How the British birthed the modern Jammu and Kashmir – and its problems

Shrewd as ever, the British realised that the key to Kashmir lay in defeating the Sikhs, but they were wary of occupying the large and unevenly populated area that comprised Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh.

Kashmir, a deceptive calm&nbsp

Having captured Bengal and steadily expanded its territory through the plains of north India in the latter half of the 18th century, the East India Company started eyeing the fertile plains of the Punjab and the stunningly beautiful Vale of Kashmir.

For the British, having access to both was critical for the ‘Great Game’ in Central Asia and Afghanistan that was played out in the 19th century by world powers such as Russia and Britain.

The empire spreads

After the third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18) the Marathas were decisively defeated and the British now controlled much of India. The Sikh empire, which included Punjab and Kashmir, was the only remaining significant power outside British control. The forces of Sikh emperor Ranjit Singh annexed Kashmir in 1819.

Shrewd as ever, the British realised that the key to Kashmir lay in defeating the Sikhs, but they were wary of occupying the large and unevenly populated area that comprised Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. So when they forced the Sikh rulers to hand over Kashmir, they already had a plan in place, and handed it over to the Dogra clan of Jammu that had earlier owed allegiance to Ranjit Singh.

By doing this the British ensured a peaceful co-opting of Kashmir, without wasting resources on directly ruling the princely state. The British also gave the Dogra rulers a fair amount of leeway in running their kingdom. This idea that Kashmir was a ‘special’ state was thus sown into the politics of the Valley by the British. It defines Kashmir to this day.

Divide and rule

After the Sikhs suffered their final defeat in 1849, the British became the undisputed masters of India. Following the 1857 sepoy mutiny, power was directly transferred to Britain. It would rule India for another 90 years. With military opposition to the British out of the way, political consciousness was slowly, painfully rising among the Indian intellectual class, and it eventually crystalized in the formation of the Congress party towards the end of the 19th century. Recognising the nature of this new challenge, senior British officials started speaking of the separateness of Hindus and Muslims. The Partition of Bengal on religious lines was the first concrete step towards the polarisation of the subcontinent on religious lines. Not surprisingly, the effects were felt in Kashmir too.

The Kashmir cauldron

The so-called two-nation theory, pushed mischievously by the British and lapped up by the likes of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had a direct bearing on Kashmir. The demand for Pakistan was essentially the voicing of the idea that Hindus and Muslims could not share a common nation. Pakistan’s claim to Muslim-majority Kashmir rested on that single idea. But it’s always been India’s case that Kashmir is only one part of the state that also includes Hindu-majority Jammu and Buddhist-majority Ladakh, and that in any case India does not subscribe to the two-nation theory.

Of course, a lot has happened since 1947 and the story of Kashmir is complex. Pakistan’s multiple attempts to wrest Kashmir by force and its use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy are part of Kashmir’s history. But the fact remains: the original sin was the devious British policy of dividing a people on communal lines.

How the British birthed the modern Jammu and Kashmir – and its problemsDescription:Shrewd as ever, the British realised that the key to Kashmir lay in defeating the Sikhs, but they were wary of occupying the large and unevenly populated area that comprised Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh.Sumeet Kaul